NJ pizza power move: Popular pizza joint announces big expansion

Pietro Grippo (you can call him Peter) has been in the pizza game since he was 16 working at his uncle’s shop in Brooklyn. He’s been an owner since 2001.

These days he owns and it’s been an award-winning journey.

With locations under his belt, including Manalapan, Jackson, Bradley Beach, and Toms River, his pizza has been named Best Pizzeria in New Jersey by The Star Ledger and received top ratings by Dave Portnoy in his One Bite reviews.

Fighting cancer while building a pizza empire in New Jersey

Grippo is an inspiration. He works his pizza passion with a treatable but incurable disease. Since June of 2016, he’s been dealing with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Making it especially poignant is that it’s the same thing that took his father from him at age 52.

He fights, and he’s developed a profound appreciation for life. Asked what advice he would give someone going through it, he told Slice.com: “Listen to your body, but try to continue your life as normal as possible. Stay strong. That alone will defeat the devil.”

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Pizza passion fuels new Marlboro location

Living life as normally as possible for Grippo means fulfilling his purpose and passion for the pizza business. He feels it’s what keeps him going.

True to his word, he’s expanding again. After having just opened that Bradley Beach location in the spring, he’s already announced a fifth location is coming to Marlboro.

The new spot will accommodate 20 seats for indoor dining and will feature their full menu, which includes specialty pizzas like their upside-down square pie.

Brooklyn Square Pizza’s growth inspires fans across NJ

He posted an announcement on Instagram about the new location coming soon, and in one day, he hit over 4,000 likes.

As much as he’s inspiring others, his fans are inspiring him. Brooklyn Square Pizza will open in a building now being constructed at 260 County Road 520. An exact opening date hasn’t yet been announced.